May 11, 2022 - Drinking really well now. The structural components really dance around in your mouth , and the fruit is bright and fresh as ever.
January 12, 2019 - Mature. Still quite a lot of tannins but worked well with food. Nice!
January 24, 2017 - Very nice Barolo after a couple hours in the decanter. Cherries, roses, and tar, along with great structure. Mature and silky.
July 5, 2015 - Opened a second bottle, as we finally decided that we'd leave the first one breathe for a couple days to remove the funkiness (hopefully). No hurry to drink this wine; the tannins are still prominent.
July 5, 2015 - Some initial funk upon decanting. After an hour in the decanter, much of it had blown off. Still some residual, however, but with the luscious red fruits and leather, it's not going in the sink drain. Also, it also should blend well with the grilled boneless leg of lamb and grilled vegetables. Still plenty of tannic backbone in this wine, so there's no hurry drinking this one despite the hot vintage. Reasonably fresh, and not flabby. Not going to score this one as the funk would negatively affect my score for an otherwise excellent wine. This is my first of six bottles, so hopefully the remaining ones will lack the funkiness.
After continuing to try this "funky" wine while making dinner, I decided to open up a second bottle for dinner, and put the first aside for a couple of days. It's now exactly one week later (bottle in the frig with argon), and this tastes wonderful. It held up really well for a week, and improved dramatically. The funkiness is all gone, and there are loads of fruit, tannin, and a silkiness that it quite surprising. The still strong tannins kept this alive all week. This suggests to me that these bottles can rest for another 5 years, easy.
March 5, 2015 - Light notes of strawberry jam with remaining tartness, acidity. Muted aroma; seems definitely at end-of-life; glad I caught it in time and pulled it out of storage. Great use of Cellar Tracker: I sorted on bottles at end of their range, and wow, I need to really get busy!
January 2, 2014 - The tannins seem to have resolved more than would be expected. Still good acidity, but notes of leather, spicebox, mushroom, forest floor, and white pepper on the end of the palate, with just a hint of sweet blackberry poking in briefly. Lots of astringency shows this will last a long time, but still great taste and good balance right now. 91-92
March 20, 2013 - Pop and pour. Classic Barolo nose of wild roses. On the palate, roses, sour cherry, and a bit of strawberry, with a nice tannic bite. This was not complex, and I doubt it will get better, but it had a bit of the velvet glove/iron fist element that I appreciate. Very good for the price.
January 12, 2013 - This is drinking very well right now, sappy, no coating, floral and berries.
December 15, 2012 - This was better than I expected based on previous bottles. Pop and pour showed roses and menthol backed by a bit of bandaid and red fruit. Went far downhill by the second day. I think this is as good as it is going to get, and not bad at that given the low price.